The semiconductor photoreceiving device is a semiconductor device which detects light by subjecting input light to photoelectric conversion. The semiconductor photoreceiving device is classified into an edge-receiving type and a surface-receiving device. The edge-receiving device is a device configured to receive light by the edge face of the optical absorption layer, which is a member of the semiconductor layers. A surface-receiving device is a device configured to receive light by the surface of the optical absorption layer, which is a member of the semiconductor layers.
In the edge-receiving device, light enters from the edge face of the optical absorption layer and diffuses in the optical absorption layer along the surface thereof. With this structure, the optical absorption efficiency of the optical absorption layer becomes high, and thus the edge-receiving device exhibits a high photoelectric conversion performance. However, in the edge-receiving device, it is difficult to realize optical coupling with high accuracy in the edge face, which is a light receiving member, and also the structure becomes more complicated.
A surface-receiving device is disclosed in, for example, JPA No. 2003-234494. The surface-receiving device comprises a substrate made, for example, from a group III-V compound semiconductor, a filter portion formed on the substrate and having wavelength selectivity and an optical detector formed on the filter portion and including an optical absorption layer. As for this photoreceiving device, since light enters the optical detector through the filter portion from the substrate side, optical coupling is easy.